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Welcome, CU Engineering Buffs

The alumni engagement team at the College of Engineering and Applied Science is focused on cultivating a strong and vibrant alumni network among our more than 40,000 alumni who are living and working around the world. Whether you are a current student who is about to graduate or you graduated decades ago, we are proud that you are part of the CU Boulder Engineering community.

We offer a variety of ways to stay informed, get connected and become involved with the College of Engineering and Applied Science throughout your life and professional career.

While many graduates use their degrees in a range of engineering fields, others apply their skills to careers as authors, athletes, attorneys, CEOs, chefs, doctors, entrepreneurs, politicians, professors, musicians, andmilitary leaders.

NASA: Astronaut Steve Swanson (EngrPhys ’83) served as a crew member on the International Space Station for a six-month stint in 2014. He’s among 19 astronauts with affiliations to CU Boulder, while dozens more have worked in other roles with NASA.

SpaceX: David Goldstein (AeroEngr PhD ’00) was named director of government missions for SpaceX in 2016.

Kiewit: Justin Guevara (CivEngr ’08) spent nearly four years working on the Port Mann Bridge project in British Columbia, one of the world’s widest bridges, as part of Kiewit Corporation.

Gould Construction: Mark Gould (CivEngr ’81, MS ’82) is president and CEO of Gould Construction, a family-owned operation in Glenwood Springs that works on bridges, commercial projects, land development and more. During a project near Snowmass Village, Gould’s crews accidentally unearthed one of the most important fossil discoveries in Colorado history.

Bridges to Prosperity: Avery Bang (MS CivEngr ’09) is CEO of Bridges to Prosperity, a nonprofit that builds bridges in rural communities to provide access to essential services. The organization has built more than 170 bridges in 17 countries.

Group14: Sue Reilly (MechEngr ’84) founded Group14, a consulting firm that improves the energy and resource efficiency of buildings. Based in Denver, the company advises on sustainable design and environmentally appropriate technologies and conducts building inspections and energy audits.

Saudi Basic Indu stries Corporation: Mohamed Al-Mady (ChemEngr ’73, HonDocSci ’12) rose to become vice chairman and CEO of the Saudi Arabian petrochemical giant SABIC after being involved since its inception in 1976. He was selected to lead Saudi Arabia’s Military Industries Corp. in 2015.

BASF: Since 2007, Mike McAtee (ChemEngr ’84) has served as BASF’s senior vice president of engineering and maintenance for North America, a position that allows him to oversee more than 100 facilities for the chemical company. He’s been with the company for more than 30 years.

Abengoa Solar: After graduation, engineers Hannah Cassard (EnvEngr '10) and Tyler Silverman (ChemEngr '08) accepted positions in the R&D department of Abengoa Solar in Seville, Spain, where they designed and developed new power tower projects for concentrating solar power. Both did internships in Seville as students and were recipients of CU's International Engineering Certificate.

CU Boulder: Keith Molenaar (ArchEngr ’90, MS CivEngr ’95, PhD ’97), associate dean for graduate programs, received three degrees from CU Boulder and joined the faculty in 1999. He’s one of numerous Forever Buffs to join the faculty and administration.

University of Oklahoma: Michael Detamore (ChemEngr ’00) was named founding director of the new Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 2016.

Rockefeller University: Seth Darst (ChemEngr ’82) is head of the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics at The Rockefeller University in New York, the country’s first institution devoted exclusively to biomedical research. In 2008, Darst was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Greenberg Traurig: Amy Kramer (ChemEngr ’06, JD ’09), practices patent and trademark law as an associate with Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm with more than 1,900 attorneys in 38 offices worldwide.

Footwear: Clark Matis (MechEngr ’70) teamed up with Randy Merrell and John Schweizer in 1980 to form Merrell Boot Company, where he provided the production management knowledge and marketing savvy that helped grow the company to the worldwide footwear brand it is today.

Culinary: Anthony Pigliacampo (MechEngr ’02) worked as a mechanical engineer for several years before cofounding Modern Market, a fast-casual restaurant chain that focuses on healthy, tasty meals with simple ingredients. The chain now has more than 20 locations.

Brewing: Yazan Karadsheh (ElEngr ’06) launched the first microbrewery in Jordan called Carakale, named after a mountain cat indigenous to the country.

Mint: Daniel Carr (MechEngr ’82) designed the New York and Rhode Island state quarters in 1999 for the U.S. Mint. He also does his own designs, sculpting, and engraving work for coins, tokens, and medals through his business, Moonlight Mint.

NREL: In 2014, Pete Sheldon (MS ElecEngr ’86) became director of research operations for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Materials and Chemical Science and Technology directorate after many years with the national lab.

NIST: Tara Lovestead (ChemEngr PhD ’04) works as a research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and won a national PECASE Award for her work in 2016.

NOAA: JoAnn Joselyn (ApMath ’65, AstroGeoPhys ’78) worked as a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Environment Center for many years before being named the first female secretary general of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, a world organization that studies the Earth and its space environment.

NEON: Jim Arnow (MS ApMath ’97) works as an engineer at the National Ecological Observatory Network, an NSF-funded project collecting 30 years of ecological data to disseminate freely to the public.

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory: Jim Hansen (AeroEngr ’92, MS ’93), a former Buffs football captain and Rhodes scholar, works at the Naval Research Laboratory in California, where he uses predictive modeling techniques to combat pirate activity off the coast of Somalia.

TiVo: Jim Barton (ElecEngr ’80, MS CompSci ’82) cofounded TiVo, the original DVR system that allowed viewers to watch television programs on their own schedules.

SparkFun Electronics: Nathan Seidle (ElecEngr ’04) launched his business as a junior in college. By the time he graduated a year later, the company had grown enough to support his full-time efforts. The Niwot-based online store sells circuit boards, cables, robotics and devices to make electronics projects possible.

Tesla: Katie Noble (ElEngr '06) has been with Tesla for more than five years. She managed and grew a team of system integration engineers focused on powertrain and body controls and now works remotely from Colorado as a staff product support engineer. Katie has worked on nearly every vehicle program at Tesla.

Toyota: Before his retirement, Bill Reinert (MS CivEngr ’81) worked as national manager of advanced technology for Toyota. He coordinated the automaker’s development and marketing activities for alternative-fueled vehicles and helped lead the product planning team for the second generation Prius.

Uber: Jake Charland (CompSci’14), a software engineer, works with some of the best minds in the field of autonomous vehicles with Uber's Advanced Technology Group in Pittsburgh. He previously worked on Uber Maps in Louisville, Colo.

Glosten: After crossing the Pacific Ocean on a 110-foot schooner, Andrew Young (MechEngr ’07) remained in the marine industry building luxury yachts with Delta Marine and as an engineer with Glosten, a Seattle-based marine design firm.

Alumni Spotlight

Instructors Alicia Gibb and Nathan Seidle (ElEngr'04) are challenging their students to stretch their engineering and design skills to solve a real-world problem in an environment that lets them feel like secret agents for the semester. Read more

To strengthen connections between the College of Engineering & Applied Science and our recent alumni, the Office of Alumni Engagement is reestablishing the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Board. Read more

Air Force Lt. Col. Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton (AeroEngr’02) and Marine Maj. Aaron “Amber” Frey (AeroEngr’02; MS’03) first met at Evergreen Middle School in Evergreen, Colo. Later, they reacquainted as fellow aerospace engineering majors at CU Boulder, and again — nearly 25 years later — as two of the U.S. military’s ace test pilots. Read more